While speaking at a security forum in the United States, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland expressed concerns about media being overly funded by the government and said that tech companies should foot the bill instead. “I think there’s a real challenge with news organizations deriving a great deal of their revenue from the public sector,…

Canada is one of the few countries in the world that does not have access to Google’s new artificial intelligence (AI)-based chatbot Bard, as the company’s war of words with the federal government over the Online News Act drags on. Google announced in a blog post on July 13 that it was expanding Bard to…

Heritage Minister Pablo Rodrigeuz said on July 12 that he is open to regulating Meta’s new social media platform “Threads” under the Online News Act, which requires tech giants to pay Canadian media outlets for news content linked on their platforms. “That’s eventually going to be included in the regulation,” Mr. Rodriguez said on July…

Ottawa has published a set of proposed regulations for its Online News Act, also known as Bill C-18, that address a number of concerns Google and Meta have voiced about the legislation which prompted the tech giants to say they will begin blocking Canadian news later this year. Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez’s department said on July…

Ottawa has published a set of proposed regulations for its Online News Act, also known as Bill C-18, that address a number of concerns Google and Meta have voiced about the legislation which prompted the tech giants to say they will begin blocking Canadian news later this year. Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez’s department said on July…

Commentary Canada’s attempts to play the tough guy took some laughable turns last weekend as those leading the fight couldn’t have made it more clear that politicians need Facebook a lot more than it needs politicians. The week began with a macho enough veneer. Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez held a news conference in which—as a…

Two of Canada’s largest news publishers, Postmedia Network Canada Corp. and Nordstar Capital LP, have dropped discussions about a potential merger deal less than two weeks after announcing talks on the subject. Postmedia, which owns papers such as the National Post, Calgary Herald, and Vancouver Sun, initially announced on June 27 that it had entered into…

A few hours after his government announced it was suspending advertising with social media company Meta, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the move was made to defend democracy. “This is not just a dispute over advertising, it’s also a dispute over democracy,” Mr. Trudeau told reporters in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, on July 5. The prime minister…

Quebec Premier François Legault says the province is suspending advertising on Facebook and Instagram until Meta resumes talks about the implementation of the federal Online News Act. Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez also announced earlier today that the federal government will pull ads off the platforms. The decision from both governments comes after Meta promised to…

The federal government is suspending all of its advertising on both Facebook and Instagram in response to their parent company, Meta, saying it will block all Canadian news from the platforms later this year once Ottawa’s new Online News Act comes into effect. Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez made the announcement while speaking to reporters in…